Asia Cup 2023: India Matches Of Tournament To Be Held Outside Pakistan- Report

Asia Cup 2023: UAE, Oman, Sri Lanka and England are contenders to be the host outside of Pakistan.

he team captains Babar Azam of Pakistan and Rohit Sharma of India speak before the ICC Men's T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan at Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 23, 2022.

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In a major update coming in from the cricketing sphere, India matches of the Asia Cup 2023 are likely to be held outside Pakistan, a recent report has claimed. After India's firm stance of not travelling to their neighbouring country for a cricket tournament while initial reports had suggested that the competition could be moved out to a neutral venue, a fresh report now states that only India matches of the tournament could be held in a neutral venue with the remaining games set to happen in Pakistan.

The same has been claimed as per an ESPNCricinfo report which further goes on to say that UAE, Oman, Sri Lanka and England are the names that have emerged as contenders to host India matches, including at least two IND vs PAK encounters. 

Notably, India and Pakistan along with a qualifier have been clubbed in a group while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Asia Cup are part of the other group. The top two teams from each group them proceed to the Super 4s where the teams that finish in the first and the second place face-off in the finale.

In this way, there could be three India-Pakistan matches, which was the possibility even last time but India failed to seal a place in the summit clash. However, this time around the tournament will be played in the 50-over format unlike last time which was a 20-overs format.

It is being learnt that weather will be massive factor in deciding the venue outside of Pakistan with UAE expected to record temperatures close to 40 degrees in September, which is when the tournament is scheduled. Oman's Muscat can then be considered as an alternative which is cooler but a place like London will also be on the cards especially due to the massive crowd that could be expected for IND-PAK matches.

The said report suggests that all members of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) have more or less agreed upon this resolution when they met at the ICC's quarterly board meeting in Dubai.